Kodi's Journey
by Baltofan110
Summary: After a plane crash, can Kodi find his way home after being captured?  Rated T to be safe


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from the Balto Trilogy.

**Prologue**

It was a bright, sunny day in Nome, Alaska. There were a few sparse clouds drifting across the sky. There was a pod of whales splashing offshore in the deep. The people and animals in town are bustling about with their daily lives. There is a humming in the distance, and it is getting closer. Suddenly, with a great ROAR, a bush plane breaks through the stark, white clouds.

The plane has a black body, and yellow wings. In the cockpit of the plane, behind the wings, sit the pilot, Duke, a kind, loving individual with blonde hair and fair skin, and his newly adopted dog, Balto, who is a greyish-white canine with tall shoulders. Balto looks over the port side of the plane and thinks to himself, _gee, what a feeling. To be free like a bird. If only I could take my family up here, I know they would love it._

**Plan making**

In the boiler room Balto's son, Kodi, is having a horrible dream. _As he regained consciousness, Kodi said to himself, _"_Where am I? Everything is so white. Wait, I'm in the forest." What's going on here, he thought. "Am I dead?" Kodi asked. "Certainly not." a mystical voice says. "Who are you, and why am I here?" he shouted. He got no response. This was getting a bit scary. He started walking through the forest on long legs. His footsteps were the only sound that echoed through the woods. Kodi glanced to his left, he glanced to his right, no movement, he noted. As he swung his head around, he saw a figure not ten paces from him. It was the great white wolf, Aniu. Kodi knew this because of the descriptions his father had given him. He asked again, "Why am I here?" Aniu replied, "Come with me and I shall tell you." Aniu turned around and led Kodi to a small cave on a lone hilltop covered with a blanket of glaring snow. Kodi followed Aniu's path as she disappeared inside the black cave entrance. As they went deeper and it got darker, Kodi couldn't see his muzzle in front of his eyes. Aniu's coat was emitting a strange glow, not enough to see by, but enough to follow her by sight. Abruptly she disappeared behind a corner. "Wait! Where did you go?" Kodi asked with a quavering voice. As he kept walking, the floor of the cave went out from beneath him, and he had the sensation of falling._

"AHHHHH!" Kodi was drenched in cold perspiration and his breathing was heavy. His teammates who are on the sled team showed signs of waking as the bush plane roared loudly overhead.

"Kodi, do you have to scream like that? I'm going to go deaf before a month's time is over if this keeps up," Ralph said sleepily.

"Yeah, when are these dreams going to stop?" yawned Kirby.

Kodi's breathing slowed, and his head drooped as he said, "I don't know guys. maybe these dreams mean something if I keep having them."

"They mean that you need to lay off that new brand of food you're eating," Dusty joked, "anyways we better get going, we have a mail run to White Mountain today."

They all headed out the door to the post office where the sled was waiting. They got into their normal positions: Kirby in the front because he was lead dog, Kodi and Dusty behind him, and Ralph and a couple others behind them. The musher put their harnesses on them and tied down the mail in the sled. He stepped onto the runners and shouted "Mush!" and they were off.

The team dropped off the mail at White Mountain and came back with the mail for Nome. When they were unharnessed, Kodi saw that his mom and dad were waiting for him.

"Hi son, how was the snow?" Balto asked.

"We ran into a few patchy areas, but nothing we couldn't handle," Kodi said.

"Good. This morning Duke remodeled the plane a little bit, and it has room for three now. How would you like to be the first new passenger?"

"Really? I'd love to!"

"Great. Do you have any breaks this week?" Balto asked as they were walking away from the sled.

"Two days from now," he said thinking out loud, "I hope we can fly then. It's my only day for a break this week."

"Sounds like a plan," said Balto.

**Takeoff**

Two days later, Kodi woke up early and snuck out of the boiler room, so as not to disturb the others. He made his way to the bush plane parked just outside of town and waited for his father to get there. A few minutes later, Balto and Duke came out of their house and jogged to the plane. Duke hopped in and Balto and Kodi got in on either side of him.

"Kodi, glad you're here," said his father.

"I can't wait to get up there," Kodi said excitedly.

Duke started the engine and they started to slide across the snow. Duke said, "I'm glad you could bring somebody with you."

He revved the engine to full speed and they took off. They flew through the air at startling speeds and Kodi felt that he had never had this much fun in his life. _Amazing. That's the only word for it. We're flying like a bird!_

"Yeah, I feel so alive! Can this get any better?" he shouted over the swirling winds.

"Isn't it amazing Kodi?"

"Yeah! Hey! I can see Mom's house from here!" He said as he leaned over the side.

Duke steered the plane to the northeast and away they went, over the pearl tundra.

**Descent**

Kodi was having the best time of his life. He was so excited to finally be up in the air like a bird. It had been two hours since they had left Nome, and they were just doing aerial maneuvers, flying upside down, doing the barrel roll, and the loop-de-loop. Kodi looked over the side of the plane at the immense forest below him thinking, _dad was right. This flying thing is great! I'm having more fun than... well, actually I don't think I've ever had close to this much fun. And it feels great, the wind in my fur, the water on my ears. Water? Is it raining? No, it doesn't seem to be hitting the windshield. We're not going through a cloud either, so what could it_ _be? _Kodi looked around and spotted the problem. The substance was coming out the side of the plane._ I don't know what it is, but it's coming from inside the plane! Hopefully, it's nothing important. I don't want to ruin the flight with small worries like this._

He decided not to alarm the other two. It was probably nothing anyways. Half an hour later Duke was tapping one of the dials and muttering, "Darn thing. I just had it fixed, I wonder why it's doing it again?" The dial dropped some more and Duke said, "Well, I'm sorry to say we probably have to head back now guys."- This was due to the facts that there was almost no fuel left and that they saw ominous clouds in the distance, "You can never tell what's wrong unless you're on the ground, and I'd rather be on the ground within a mile of Nome than-"

The engine spluttered. The propeller skipped a beat and Kodi's heart almost stopped. _Oh no, we're going to_ _crash, _Kodi thought as the engine slowed, _I guess it must have been that watery stuff I felt earlier._

Once again there was a falling sensation as the engine slowed and stopped. This time, it wasn't a dream. This was real. Gravity pulled the plane as it glided at an ever-increasing angle downwards. Faster and faster they went, the ground rushing to meet them. Kodi blacked out and fell against Duke.

* * *

><p><strong>Nome<strong>

"Agh," Jenna gasped as she sat up in her bed, "I can't help feeling something is wrong. Balto and Kodi have been gone for a long time, something terrible must have happened to them." Jenna went outside only to run into Dusty, who had woken up a few minutes earlier.

"Jenna, is Balto here?"

"No, he went with Duke and Kodi."

A look of worry crossed her face as she said, "Oh no! Kodi is up there too? It's odd, but I feel like something went wrong."

"Then we're both on the same page. We have to find them."

Unbeknownst to them, Kirby had gotten up just after Dusty, and followed her. "No, you can't go. I will."

"What? But, Kirby I-" Dusty was cut off.

"He means we'll go. Right Kirby?" Ralph interrupted as he came up the steps. He had followed Kirby.

"Sure, buddy. Two sniffers are better than one." Away they ran, sniffing for Balto and Kodi.

"Well, what are we supposed to do here? We can't just sit around while Kodi may be dying," said Dusty.

"Don't worry, I've been through this before. Why don't you come inside, there's a blizzard on the way."

"All right." Dusty replied in defeat.

* * *

><p><strong>Survival<strong>

_I must be dead this time. There was a horrible crash. I couldn't have lived through it. Wait, how do I know it was a terrible crash? What if Duke saved us? There's the plane. It looks like most of it is intact, so I can't be dead, but where are Duke and my father? _Kodi took a look around and found them on the other side of the plane. He nudged Duke with his nose. "Duke, wake up. We have to get to shelter. There's a blizzard coming. Wake up!"

"Son, I don't think he'll be waking up for a while," said Balto.

"What are we going to do? He doesn't even have fur."

"We'll have to drag him to safety ourselves. Put him on this piece of tail that fell off." Balto drug the piece of metal over to Duke, and Kodi pulled him onto it by the collar of his jacket.

"We have to find something to make a harness. Search everywhere, if we can't find anything there's a good chance he might die." Balto and Kodi searched the plane high and low, side to side, and front to back. Finally, Kodi discovered some rope in the back compartment of the plane.

"Hey, Dad, I found some rope in this compartment."

"Good, bring it over here Kodi. Tie it into these small holes and make a harness out of the rest."

Kodi did this, then put the harness over himself. He would leave the searching for shelter to his father. The wind then picked up and Balto knew they had spent too much time with the plane. _We have to find shelter, and fast._ The wind blew harder and started to drive snow into their eyes.

"The storm is already here!" shouted Kodi.

"We only have one way out! We have to dig!" Balto screamed over the wind. He wasn't sure if Kodi even heard him but he started to dig and Kodi was right there, digging beside him. After 10 minutes they had a hole big enough to hold the three of them. Kodi let Duke's unconscious body slide in, then they got in next to him so their fur and body heat would protect him from freezing. Eventually, Balto and Kodi fell asleep, but not for long. Kodi woke up in the middle of the night with the feeling of being watched. He could still hear the wind whistling overhead, but he stuck his head up anyway. The cold wind bit at his nose and eyes as he looked around the forest. He thought he could see large figures moving around, but his eyes were watering, so he chalked that one up to his disfunctional eyes and his still-sleeping mind. He was satisfied at that and dropped back into a deep sleep next to an unconscious Duke.

* * *

><p>In the morning, when Kodi woke up, he was alone in their little snow hole. <em>Where did they go! <em>He then saw the smoke rising to his left. "Oh, good, Duke isn't unconscious anymore." Kodi bounded over to the fire where his father and Duke sat.

"Good morning Kodi, glad you could finally join us," his father said.

"I got a little distracted during the night, and I guess I was just tired after all the action."

"I was just kidding son," he said with a small smile.

"Oh, anyways, I see that Duke can walk," he said, noticing that the tail piece had disappeared.

"Yes, and it looks like the plane can't fly anymore, so I'm going to try to work out a plan of action with Duke, but you know how humans are. They can't understand a word we say."

"I am a bit hungry, so maybe while you two are doing that, I should go forage for some food." Fortunately, Duke had just fallen asleep next to the fire. _He fell asleep a__gain. _So Kodi went off in the forest to look for some food.

* * *

><p><strong>Capture<strong>

Kodi trotted through the woods looking for any kind of small game or berries that would satisfy his hunger. He decided to search for food in ever widening circles. _That would be the most effective way, _he thought. As he got farther away, the forest seemed to get colder. He soon came upon a small berry bush and stopped to eat his fill. The berries didn't taste too good, they were bitter in fact, but they did the trick. As he stopped eating, he saw something stir at the edge of his vision. He glanced around nervously. "Who's there? Dad?" He got nothing in reply. "All right, you got me, nice job dad. You can come out now." He started to back up the direction he came and said, "I guess I'll go back to the plane. Are you coming Dad?" A vicious growl cut through the air. Kodi's ears flattened on his head. He was scared stiff. "That's not Dad," he said meekly. A dark form emerged from behind a snow mound about 20 paces from where he stood.

"You dare to enter my clan's territory, dog?" it growled.

"Your clan's territory?" Kodi realized it was a wolf who spoke to him because she looked a little like his sister, except for her fur's color.

"Yes, my clan. We are named after that river over there, the Axehandle." She pointed to the river flowing to their right.

"The Axehandle Clan," Kodi mumbled to himself. "Am I trespassing on your territory? If I am, I'll leave immediately."

"Oh, but you already had your chance," the wolf said acidly, "we warned you last night, dog."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Sorry isn't good enough anymore," the wolf shouted, "you have been tresspassing on our territory long enough! You will follow me."

"And what if I won't?" said Kodi as he stood a bit taller.

Four more wolves appeared from behind the mound and growled menacingly.

"Any more questions, dog?"

Kodi shook his head in defeat.

"Good, follow me!"

Kodi followed the black wolf as the other four surrounded him. _This is bad, really bad. How am I going to get home now?_

**Introductions**

They had been walking north for a long while, so long in fact that Kodi's feet were starting to hurt. "How far is it to your clan?" he asked the black wolf.

"Quiet, dog! Or I shall kill you myself," she said while looking back at him menacingly.

_I should try to be her friend. That's what mom always says, "The best way to defeat your enemy is to make the enemy your friend." _"May I ask what your name is?" he asked meekly, and the convoy stopped.

"Very well," she said in exasperation, "my name is Anevay," she said in a quieter tone, "now I suppose I must ask for your name?" she asked still frowning through the whole exchange.

"Of course, my name is Kodi." he replied hastily. They resumed walking at the same pace.

* * *

><p>Another hour of walking, another time the pain doubled in Kodi's feet. <em>This is getting ridiculous. When are we going to get there?<em> He smiled at the next thought. _Listen to me, I sound like a small pup again!_ As they approached a grove of pines, they suddenly veered left, and kept going. _That must be a landmark, _Kodi thought, _I'll remember that for later._

"We are almost there. When we get there you will remain outside the cave while I speak to the alpha about this," Anevay said with an angry glance in his direction.

Kodi sighed and thought, _it is getting dark, and I need a place to sleep. I don't think I want to anger her anymore, so my best bet is to just do what she says._

Anevay went inside, but the other four remained by his side, presumably, to guard the prisoner. "Excuse me, but what is your name?" he asked the one in front of him.

"Shut up dog! I should have killed you before!"

_I guess there's a reason he doesn't speak._

Kodi laid down on the grass of the small clearing they had reached. It was quite peaceful here. The trees let in just enough sunlight to see by, even though the sun was starting to get lower in the sky. _This would be a nice place to live. I guess that's why the wolves are here though. I wonder if they've always lived here, or if they come from somewhere else? _Just then, Anevay came back out of the cave. "The alpha would speak to you now. I'm not sure what she sees in you, but that's why she's alpha," Anevay said matter-of-factly.

* * *

><p><strong>New Friends<strong>

Kodi got up, and the guards parted for him to enter the cave. It was dark inside the cave, but his eyes adjusted well. He could clearly see some wolfish shapes in the back of the cave, speaking in secrecy. Kodi couldn't make out what they were saying, but he presumed it was about him, for when he entered the cave, they stopped abruptly. Kodi could now see quite clearly. one of the wolves was grey and white colored, like his sister, the other one was almost completely covered in brown, all except for his paws which were white. The grey wolf came towards him and he could see a look of confusion on her face. She said, "Kodi, you have violated the rules of our clan, what have you to say for yourself?"

"Only that I did not know it was your territory... forgive me, but I don't even know your name yet."

"Oh, how rude of me. My name is Aleu, daughter of Balto and Jenna. This is Lako, my mate. Anevay told me your name, but not who your parents are, although I believe I already know," she said with a smile.

Kodi stared in amazement. _Is it true? My own sister? _"Aleu is it truly you? Dad told us all that you were dead."

"Typical dad, right? He's always trying to protect us." She shook her head at the memory. She sat down to get more comfortable and said, "I suppose you are tired from the journey here, yes?"

"Of course. Who wouldn't be? No offense, but that was quite a long walk."

"None taken. You should probably get some rest, you can lie down in the back of the cave," she said as she nodded in that direction and got up to leave with Lako.

Kodi got up as well, and moved to the back of the cave where he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>In the morning, everyone was sleeping inside the cave, including many who had gotten back after Kodi fell asleep. Kodi woke up still half asleep. He stretched and yawned, then remembered where he was. <em>Oh, right. I'm in a cave. Not just any cave, the cave of my sister's clan. I admit it's great to see her, but why am I still here? I could leave anytime I wanted to. Something is keeping me here, but the question is, what? Or who, his subconscious told him. The only "who" that's keeping me here is Aleu. I should tell her about Duke and Dad, and then get a move on. Might as well get a breath of fresh air while I'm at it, seeing as Aleu is sleeping near the cave entrance. <em>"I'll just wait there until she wakes up," he said to himself. He walked over to the entrance and saw that the clearing was shrouded in sunlight. _I don't think anybody would mind if I just slipped out for a little while to warm up. _Kodi stepped out side, only to be driven back by the glare. _It's bright out there, I guess I'll just have to enjoy it from here. _He suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

"What are you doing up so early?" Anevay asked.

"After the way you treated me, I thought you probably weren't going to speak to me anymore."

"I was just trying to start a friendly conversation," she said reproachfully, "Aleu told us who you were, and I figured I better apologize and start making a new friend before someone else does." She chuckled at her own joke.

"Oh, well, apology accepted. I just thought I should get some fresh air."

She sighed and looked at the ground, "You can't leave today."

"Don't worry, I already had that part figured out. I just want to know why."

"It is clan law. Even if you are innocent of any crime, you must stay here for a minimum of one week, just so we can get the facts right."

_A week! Dad and Duke can't last that long. _"I don't know how my father will feel about that."

"Your father? Does he worry much?" she asked.

"All the time. He worries about us every minute of the day. But, now it's my turn to worry about him," he said glancing longingly outside.

"Is he hurt or in danger?" The concern was clear on her face as she said this.

"He is in danger of starvation because he can't leave our friend, Duke. He is the pilot of our plane."

"Duke is hurt then. You worry that he will die, and so you worry about how your father will react?" she guessed.

_It's almost like she's a mind reader. I wonder what else she can guess. _"Yes. If I can't get back to them with food, they will starve. There is also a possibility of Duke freezing to death."

"Why is that? Don't all dogs have fur, or is Duke not even a dog?" she questioned.

_Once again with the mind reading. _"Duke is not a dog. He is a human. He has a small amount of fur on his head, but that's it."

"I understand how this can be a cause of great worry," she said looking into the distance, "I lost my father in a blizzard one year ago. He froze because he had fallen through the ice on the river Axehandle, then the blizzard came and..." she trailed off.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to re-open old wounds," he said looking at the ground.

"Don't be, he wasn't much of a father anyways," she reflected.

As the rest of the clan began to wake up, they stopped their conversation and Kodi went to speak with his sister.

* * *

><p><strong>Crash Site<strong>

Balto woke with a start. "Whoa!" He looked over to see that Duke was still asleep, but the fire had died down. _I wonder how long he's going to sleep? We should be heading home. Where's Kodi? He's been gone all day and all night. _Balto looked around and felt uneasy. Then he remembered, _I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday. I hope Kodi gets back soon so we can get a move on._

* * *

><p><strong>Argument<strong>

Kodi walked over to where Aleu had been sleeping. _Why didn't she tell me I had to stay? I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. If she doesn't trust me with that information, what else isn't she telling me? _As he thought this, he realized Anevay really was trying to be friendly. She had told him something his own sister had withheld. _She might just be the only friend I have here. Quite a good friend at that, if she's telling me these things. No, it must be a ploy, she would never be that friendly towards me. Now, where is Aleu?_

"Kodi," he turned around to see that Aleu was a few paces behind him, "were you looking for me?"

"Yes. We have to talk," he said with a serious look.

"About what?" she questioned.

"About why you didn't tell me I have to stay here," he said accusingly.

"There's a perfectly good reason for that," she replied, "I was just trying to let you get a good night's sleep."

_Just trying to get a good night's sleep! Is that what passes for an excuse these days? I better just lay low, and play my cards right._"I suppose that's understandable," he said with a chuckle, "you're almost exactly like Dad."

"Oh? How is dear old Dad these days?" She smiled.

"That's another thing, we were in a plane crash." _As if she would care._

"What? All right, I'm concerned for Dad because the word crash is never good, but what's a plane?"

"It's a flying machine the humans built. Our human pilot, Duke, was flying it when we lost all of our fuel and he lost control of the plane. They're probably pretty hungry right now, and I only know that they are far south of here," he said with growing anger on his face, "I was in the forest looking for food when five of _your _wolves captured me."

"Kodi, believe me, if I would have known yesterday, I would have let you go in a heartbeat." Her face fell as she said the last words.

"But you can't now," he said softly, "can you?"

"Kodi, you must understand that-" she stopped as he cut her off.

"I am your brother," he pleaded, "and he, your father. Why can't you let me go?"

"Because," she said firmly, "it is clan law." With that, they both walked away from each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Nome<strong>

Dusty awoke slowly and crawled out of the spare bed in Jenna's house. She stretched and yawned, then remembered why she had come inside in the first place. _Is the blizzard over? _She went to the window to look outside. Unfortunately, the window pane was filmed by ice. _How am I supposed to know if it's safe to look for Kodi? _She heard footsteps behind her and turned to look. It was Jenna. Apparently, she had woken early as well.

"Did you sleep well Dusty?" Jenna inquired.

"As well as I needed," she looked towards the ice-covered window, "do you know if it's safe to go out yet? I'm worried about Kodi."

"Why don't we just open the door and take a look?" Jenna walked to the door and got her muzzle around the handle. It twisted easily, and the door swung open without a sound. Cold winter air blasted their faces, but there was no snow on the wind.

Dusty looked out at the reflective snow, and thought to herself, _well, at least I know they have some chance, if they're not dead already._"Do you think anybody else has noticed they're gone?"

"If I know Balto, and I do, they'll be just fine."

"I hope you're right." Dusty sighed shaking her head.

* * *

><p><strong>Partners<strong>

Kodi was sitting at the entrance to the cave on the second day thinking about his father at the crash site. _He must be worried about me by now. They're probably walking home as I sit here, watching the snow. Will I ever see him again? What if he dies out there? _Something interrupted his thoughts, and brought him back to reality.

"It is quite beautiful, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"The snow. It looks like a giant white cloud has descended on the Earth," Anevay glanced at him and asked, "are you worried about your father?"

"Very much. For all I know, he might be dead or dying."

"It's hard to lose family as close as your parents. I should know."

"I'm going to leave."

"In six days, yes."

"No. Tonight. When the moon rises, I'm going to go find my father."

"Why do you trust me with this information?" She seemed astounded.

"After I leave, I want you to tell my sister where I'm going."

"I can't do that." She smiled and thought, _I will go with him. What Aleu is doing is wrong. He has done nothing wrong, and two of his closest friends might be dying._

"Why not?" he hissed.

"Because I'm going with you." she whispered.

"What? But, why?" He stared at her incredulously.

"Because I don't think it's right to keep you here while your father is waiting for you."

"Well then, we leave tonight." He smiled at her. _At least I'll have a friend to talk to. Who cares if Aleu knows where I went?_

"Agreed, partner," she chuckled. They both walked to different areas of the cave to get a little more sleep. As Kodi walked to a corner of the cave to get some sleep, he thought over what Anevay had said. _She's going with me. Why do I feel happier? She is the only friend I have here, but, I never thought we would become good friends. "Partners," she said. Yeah, we're just partners, nothing more, nothing_ less. He paused in his thoughts as he reached the spot._ Or, is there something more I'm feeling?_ A surprised look took over his face as this thought flashed around his mind. _Even __if it was, she wouldn't feel the same. She's just going with me because she thinks what Aleu is doing is wrong. _As Kodi lay down to sleep his subconscious told him, _I don't know, "partners" is fine, but did you ever think about something better than that? Better than partners? Could be... _he trailed off as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Anevay trotted off to her usual spot in the back of the cave and laid down to get some more rest. Two sides of her mind battled inside her head as she tried to get some sleep. <em>Partners? That's the best you could come up with?<em>

_Well, I couldn't exactly say friends, could I?_

_That's precisely what you were supposed to say._

_So I floundered a little, it's not like I'll never see him again..._

_He did look a little depressed when he left._

_What do you want me to do, apologize?_

_No, just be a bit more friendly is all I'm saying._

_I am being friendly towards him, although he might just think it's because he's Aleu's brother._

_Then be more than friendly towards him. We both know how you feel about him._

_Who asked you to butt in on my personal life anyways?_

_I_ am_ your personal life. You and I both know how you feel. Does Kodi?_

_Well, I'm not sure. I hope he feels the same though._

_Of course he does. Didn't you see the way he smiled at you?_

_Well, yes, but that could mean anything._

_Look, the point is, be more friendly._

_If it'll get you to shut up, I will._

_All right, I'll let you get your rest. _With that, she promptly fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Waiting<strong>

Kodi lay awake for a few minutes before realizing that he had slept far longer than he planned. He could see stars past the shadow in the cave entrance. _Shadow? It must be Anevay. She already woke up. _He groaned softly with the pain of his stiff muscles as he stood up. _Must've been asleep for a _long_ time. _he padded soundlessly across the stone floor to the entrance where Anevay waited. She turned to him and asked with a smile, "Hello there sleepy head. Have a nice nap?"

"It was a much longer nap than I intended," he yawned.

"That's all right. The moon hasn't gone very far."

"Oh, good," he looked up to see that she was right, the moon was only a quarter of the way across the sky, "we can still leave stealthily."

"It will take a while to get back to your father, maybe even all night."

"Then we'll just have to travel all night," he said looking back at his sister. _What about the others? Why do I have a bad feeling about leaving them?_

"All right, let's go." Anevay turned to leave, but realized Kodi wasn't with her, he was looking back towards his sister. "Is something wrong Kodi?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling that something will happen to all the rest if we leave."

"If you're still unsure about doing this, we can wait a little bit."

"We'll wait another hour, an hour and a half tops."

"Sounds like a plan." They both settled down on the cave floor to wait out the time.

* * *

><p>Kodi lay on the floor, watching the air outside the cave entrance, ready for anything to come out of the darkness. "Anevay, are you awake?" He whispered.<p>

"Half-way," she mumbled as she opened one sleepy eye.

"Do you think I was being paranoid when I said something was gonna happen?"

"Well, I don't know if you're paranoid," she said opening the other eye, "but I do know that nothing has happened yet."

"It has been an hour, and I still don't see anything suspicious out there," he said shaking his head.

"Either you're paranoid or you're not, but I'm with you, whichever decision you make," she said looking up at him.

"Thanks Anevay. I don't know where I would be without friends like you."

"Just say you'll wake me up when it's time to go," she said as she put her head back on her paws.

"Sure thing Anevay," he whispered. He looked back outside and thought, _i__t must have just been paranoia._

* * *

><p>"Anevay, wake up," Kodi said as he sat next to her, "it's time to go." He realized that she was still asleep. "Come on Anevay, get up!" he said with a wry smile on his face.<p>

"What? Oh, Kodi, I was having the best dream."

"Now who's the one napping, huh?" he said as his smile grew.

"Well, at least I have a good reason," she said smiling as well, "I was tired."

"That's as good a reason as mine was."

"Oh? And what's your reason?"

He hesitated a moment, then said, "I was tired," they both laughed at that, and Kodi asked, "what was your dream about?"

"I can't remember it all, but it went a little like this: the whole clan was on a hunt, and we had killed this giant elk. We were all feasting on the meat, and...you were there too." She stopped, remembering.

"Me?" He looked at her with interest.

"Yes, you. You were eating the neck meat, the best part," she said with hunger in her eyes, "and I was eating part of one of its legs," she smiled remembering the next part, "then, you brought some of the neck meat to me. I was just about to thank you when you woke me up."

"What would you have said?"

"I would have thanked you and offered to share some of the meat," she said. "Clans always eat together," she said quickly as she looked outside. _That was a close call. _

"Well, are you ready to leave now?" he said looking outside as well.

"Of course. I'm ready whenever you are."

"All right, let's go" he said as they both trotted out of the cave and into the dark night.

**Save Her!**

Kodi and Anevay walked through the forest, noses to the ground, following the scent of their walk to the cave. The moon was high in the sky as they entered a small clearing with glistening snow. "Anevay, do you think we're still going the right way? You know we dogs don't have very good sniffers."

"We're going the right way Kodi. Don't worry. We'll find your father," she said with a concerned glance in his direction.

"You're right. Dad is fine. He has Duke to take care of him," he said nodding at her.

"They should be this way,"Anevay said, and started to head south with her nose above the snow.

* * *

><p>Kodi and Anevay were walking in silence when Kodi spoke up, looking ahead, "Anevay, look, that river seems familiar doesn't it?"<p>

"Yes, that's the Axehandle river! We've found your father!" She shouted and jumped into the air.

"Dad!" Kodi jumped as well and they both started running. He looked at Anevay and saw an elated smile on her face. However, Kodi still had a small sense of foreboding that was growing stronger as they raced toward the river. He skidded to a stop as he heard the rushing water underneath, and shouted a warning to Anevay, "Anevay! Stop!" But it was too late. She couldn't hear him over the rapidly flowing water. She raced onto the ice and looked down to see miniscule cracks growing larger.

She turned around and tried to yell to Kodi, "Kodi! Help!" But her words were lost as she disappeared. A splash of water was all that remained of where she had been.

"Anevay!" Kodi rushed over to the river bank and tried to look into the water, for any trace of her jet-black fur. _She went in! I have to save her,_ he thought blindly._ I only have one option: I have to go in after her. _He rushed onto the ice to where she had fallen in. _No turning back now, you're going in either way. _He could already feel the ice starting to give out underneath him. He swallowed, and jumped into the hole where Anevay had been a few seconds ago. He opened his eyes and saw nothing. He felt the cold grasp of the water and closed his eyes. His only thought was: _I must save Anevay! _He lost most of his air to the cold shock of the water, then kicked to the surface, and got some more air. He then dived down once again. _Where is she? She couldn't have gone_ _far._ He thrashed around wildly._ There! _He felt soft fur against his paw. He felt around and found the back of her neck. He grabbed it with his teeth and hauled her up towards the surface. _I hope I'm not too late. _His lungs were about to burst, as he was running out of air, but he kept pushing for the one place the ice was broken. Faster and faster he swam, he finally put one paw on the edge of the thicker ice, on the opposite side of where they had come from. Two paws; three. He was up! With water cascading off his body, he dragged Anevay up onto the other bank. Luckily, she spluttered and coughed dumping water out of her muzzle. "Anevay! You're okay," he said nuzzling her. "I almost thought you were killed," he said softly as she coughed even more water up. She slumped onto the ground, obviously beat.

"I can't even remember falling through," she said as she tried to regain her breath, "I must have passed out and..." She looked at him with wonder.

"Never do that to me again," he said panting, "agreed?"

"Agreed," she rose and rubbed noses with him, "as long as you can promise that you'll never do it to me."

"I promise." He licked her cheek and she did the same.

"Kodi, I love you."

He nuzzled her and said, "I love you too," he licked her cheek again, "now, let's get you next to the warm fire. I can see the smoke. It's only a mile away."

"All right, let's go," she said as she leaned against him for support. They walked towards the smoke, enjoying each others company.

* * *

><p><strong>Crash Site<strong>

Balto awoke to a commotion in the forest._ I wonder who's out there._ He got up and looked to Duke, who was putting wood on the fire.

"We can only wait here so long Balto." Duke said shaking his head.

Balto decided to go check out the disturbance. He trotted off into the woods and started sniffing for whoever or whatever it was. He put his nose into the air and took a deep whiff. _Could it be? _He sniffed again. _It is. Kodi's back! It smells like he brought someone with him. I can't tell who though. _He started to run through the forest towards Kodi, whose scent was growing stronger every second, as was the stranger's. He sniffed and turned to see a rabbit off to his right, scurrying into the bushes. When he looked up again, he saw Kodi walking through the thick foliage, and leaning against him was a black wolf. _A wolf! So, that's the other one I smelled. _"Kodi! Over here." He nodded at his son.

"Dad. How are you doing?"

"We're both hungry, but other than that, we don't have any problems," he said while looking Kodi and the stranger over, "I see you have a better story to tell though," he said while tilting his head to one side, "well, first things first, you both need to get warm. There's a fire going in camp that would suit your needs perfectly." Kodi and Anevay followed wordlessly.

* * *

><p>In camp, Kodi, Anevay, and Balto lay next to the fire, Kodi and Anevay telling their story, and Balto listening. "...Then we walked into the forest and met up with you." Kodi left out the part when they had revealed their feelings for each other, but Balto had clearly figured that out already.<p>

"You're going to have to answer to your mother when you get home Kodi. I can't cover for you, I mean, you're bringing a wolf home to meet her. A wolf! No offense Anevay."

"None taken."

"How do you think your mother will react to that?"

"Not too well, I'm assuming."

"Probably not." Balto responded.

"Why are we all acting so down about it? I'm sure your mother and I will be great friends," she said optimistically.

"You're right as usual," Kodi said looking at Anevay, "we should introduce you to my mother first thing when we get to Nome."

Balto looked up, and saw that Duke was packing anything he could scrounge from the wreckage into a small bag. "It looks like we're leaving now," Balto said.

"All right gang, time to go!" Duke called. They all got up and followed Duke into the forest, heading south.

* * *

><p><strong>Home<strong>

Three days later as they crested a hill, Kodi heard voices. _Did somebody come out to look for us? _A few minutes later he heard the distinct growl of automobile engines. _Cars? How could that be? It feels like we've only walked a couple of miles. I guess the days kind of blend together though. _The sounds got louder. _We're almost home! I can feel it in my gut. That, or it's the hunger. _None of them had eaten for three days, some even more than that. Duke had gotten them through it by melting snow for water every night. "Dad, do you hear that?"

"Yes. Cars. Voices. They can only mean one thing," he said looking at Kodi.

"Nome!" they both said at once.

Duke sniffed the air around them and said, "You smell that guys? Smoke. We must be near home."

"If Duke can smell it, we must be close." Kodi observed. They crested another hill, and through the trees, they saw the first buildings.

"We're home," Kodi yelled, "come on everyone, let's go!" They all raced down the hill behind Kodi, Duke falling behind a little, but catching up later. They ran into town, and Kodi looked at Anevay, and licked her cheek.

"Now that we're home, you can meet my mother," Kodi said.

"I'd be happy to," Anevay said chuckling. Balto led Kodi and Anevay to Jenna's house, scratching on the door when they got there.

Jenna opened the door after a few minutes and tackled Balto. "Where have you been? I was so worried!" She almost broke into tears as she said this.

"It's a long story Jenna," Balto said while trying to breathe, "so we should all tell it together."

"All?" Jenna finally noticed Anevay and Kodi, standing off to the side.

"Hi mom. I'm back," Kodi said simply.

"Kodi, I was so worried about both of you...but this is a new face," she said while looking at Anevay.

"This is Anevay, part of the story is how I met her," Kodi said leaning against Anevay lovingly.

"Anevay. That's a beautiful name," Jenna said smiling.

"Thank you, and you must be Kodi's mom, Jenna," Anevay said smiling too.

"Yes, I am. Why don't you all come inside? We can talk more in there," she said turning around and walking through the door.

Kodi and Anevay followed behind her, and Balto behind them. Kodi fell back and whispered to his father, "That went better than expected, didn't it?"

"I guess it did," he whispered back. They walked inside after Anevay, then all four of them sat down next to the fireplace.

* * *

><p>"...and that's when we ran into town," Balto finished. It was late afternoon, and Kodi, Anevay, and Balto had just finished telling their story to Jenna.<p>

"That's quite a story," Jenna yawned, "I think it's getting late though, and all this storytelling is making me tired..."

The other three got up and left her to get some rest and think about what she'd heard.

"That was some good storytelling Kodi," Balto said while walking out the door.

"Thank you," Kodi looked at the position of the sun, "it is getting late, like mom said, and we should all get some rest."

"Yeah, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow son." With a smile at his son, Balto left, presumably to go to Duke's house. With that, Kodi and Anevay were alone.

"So, what do you think?" Kodi asked.

"She's very kind."

"Yeah, she makes that impression on a lot of others as well."

"What do we do now?" Anevay asked, looking at him quizzically.

"We could get some rest in the boiler room," he smiled, "and while we're there, you can meet the mail team."

"That sounds great." They both walked off into town to go to the boiler room.

* * *

><p>Once again, the door opened without a sound. Kodi saw three dogs asleep on the floor in front of the boiler: Dusty, Ralph, and Kirby. He barked once to wake them up, and put a smile on his face. <em>Finally, back where I belong. <em>"Hey Guys! Wake up!" He and Anevay walked to where the others had been sleeping.

"Kodi," Ralph said with an astounded look, "we've been looking for you for days on end! Where have you been?" He still had not realized Kodi had brought a wolf into their midst.

"Kodi! Where were you for the past few days? Also...who's she?" Kirby said while tipping his head a little.

Dusty was the last to wake up. "Kodi, you're finally back. Who did you bring with you?"

There were so many questions for Kodi to answer. He suddenly got very tired, as if the endless days of being in the northern wilderness had finally caught up with him. _I'm so tired. I'll just tell them tomorrow. _"Guys, we're beat. Can we tell you the story tomorrow?" Kodi and Anevay laid down in a corner and instantly fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
